State justice cabinet officials say it could take 18 to 24 months for another Northern Kentucky Medical Examiner’s Office to reopen in NKY if funding for the project is included in the next state budget.
Based on recent estimates from project designers, Justice and Public Safety Cabinet budget director Rebecca Norton told the Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee on Wednesday that work on the office is expected to take up to two years to complete. Northern Kentucky University owns the office property that will be renovated and leased to the state.
The office location is the former Highland Heights city building on Harriet Avenue, now owned by NKU, WCPO reported in December.
Once complete, the office space – estimated at 10,000 square feet – is expected to house both the NKY medical examiner’s office and the Kentucky State Police Northern Regional crime lab, now located in Cold Springs.
“I think the estimate we received from the design group was somewhere between 18 and 24 months for renovations so that’s what we would hope for if everything goes smoothly with the construction,” Norton said.
Around $17.3 million in bond funds are requested for the renovation in the next state budget, cabinet secretary Keith Jackson told the committee in his testimony Wednesday. NKU will contribute $3.7 million of its own funds for the project, he said.
Gov. Andy Beshear made the state’s funding request for the project last year.
“Think about a crime lab and we’ve been attempting to do that for several years now,” Beshear told WCPO in December. “There’s been challenges in the locations about where and so this will be a continued discussion with the legislature It should help us with overall capacity statewide and in Northern Kentucky.:
The NKY medical examiner’s office has been closed since 2017, primarily due to staffing issues. Salaries for pathologists and autopsy techs were increased in the current state budget to help recruit and retain staff at state medical examiner offices in Kentucky. That budget also includes $3.9 million – with $1.8 million in one-time funds for necessary equipment – to reestablish the NKY medical examiner’s office and procure a lease space for the office.
With salaries improved and lease space designated, Jackson said his cabinet is focused on returning the NKY office online. Approximately 500 autopsies now performed in Louisville or Frankfort will be able to stay in the region when the office reopens, he said.
“For grieving families, regional offices that are able to operate at capacity reduce the need to transport deceased loved ones over 100 miles to either the Louisville or Frankfort offices for examination and back home to their families for their funeral and burial,” Jackson told the committee. “Law enforcement and other investigators will also save associated expenses and resources. It is essential that the office of the state medical examiner is able to serve an area that will provide year-round accessibility.”
The NKY medical examiner’s office and the KSP NKY crime lab will have separate operations in a shared space. The crime lab specializes in forensic biology, firearms analysis, toxicology, breath alcohol testing, processing of sexual assault kits and polygraphs to assist law enforcement throughout the region. However, lab director Jeanna Oxenham said the facility needs more space.
“We currently are limited on space and it’s very appealing to look at relocating with the medical examiner’s office to afford us more space for our laboratory,” she told the committee on Wednesday.
Last March, Boone County coroner Missy Rittinger told the Boone County Fiscal Court she expected the NKY medical examiner’s office to open within a couple of years. Like Jackson, Rittinger predicted services for families and local communities will improve once that happens.
“We will no longer have to send any of our autopsies to Louisville which is very expensive and very hard on the families,” Rittinger said last year.
Rebecca Hanchett is LINK nky’s Frankfort correspondent. You can reach her at rhanchett@linknky.com